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Chicago Implements Expansive Predictive Scheduling Ordinance


Last month, the Chicago City Council approved what many have called the most expansive predictive scheduling ordinance in the country, the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance.  Set to take effect July 1, 2020, the Ordinance will apply to many workers in the city.

Who the Ordinance Covers

Of note, the City's Ordinance will apply to salaried employees earning no more than $50,000.00/year and hourly employees earning no more than $26/hour and who work in the building services, healthcare, hotel, manufacturing, restaurant, retail, or warehouse services industry.  The Ordinance applies to employers with more than 100 employees globally of which 50 of those employees meet the criteria of being covered by the ordinance.  For those employers in the restaurant industry, the threshold is 250 employees and 30 locations globally, and franchises with 4 or more locations in Chicago.

Ordinance Requirements

Now for the part that many employers and employees are likely looking for...what does the Ordinance require?  In short, starting July 1, 2020, covered employers will be required to provide those employees covered by the Ordinance with 10 days notice of work schedules.  (Starting July 1, 2022, that notice increases to 14 days.)  At the time an employee is hired, employers will be required to provide a good faith estimate of the protected days and hours of work for the first 90 days of employment.

For changes made after the notice deadline, a covered employee will have the right to decline any previously unscheduled hours.  As well, a covered employee will also have the right to decline a shift with less than a ten hour break from their last shift.  If the employee chooses to work that shift, the employer will be required to pay that employee 1.25 times their regular rate of pay.  For those employers that alter a covered employee's schedule after the deadline, the employer will be required to pay the employee one extra hour of pay (in addition to the employee's regular compensation.)  In the event a shift is canceled or reduced with less than 24 hours notice, the employer will be required to pay the employee at least 50% of their regular rate of pay for any scheduled hours.

Exceptions

Of note, there are exceptions carved out, including if a schedule is changed due to civil unrest or threats, utility outages, acts of nature; a mutually agreed upon shift trade or coverage arrangement between covered employees; if the covered employee and employer mutually agree and confirm in writing; and if a covered employee requests a shift change.

Penalties For Ordinance Violation(s)

Each violation of the Ordinance carries a fine of between $300 and $500.  If an employer discriminates or retaliates against an employee for exercising any right as provided by the Ordinance, the fine could increase to $1,000.00.

Given that employers in Chicago have less than a year to ensure compliance with this predictive scheduling ordinance, I would suggest steps be taken now to start implementing a policy to ensure a violation does not occur.  Afterall, the penalties could get to be quite costly.



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